The Railway Workers' Federation () is the largest trade union representing workers on the railways in France.
History The union was founded in 1917 as the National Federation of Railway Workers of France, the Colonies and the Protectorate Countries, and affiliated to the General Confederation of Labour (CGT). In 1921, many members left to join the United General Confederation of Labour, but they rejoined in 1935, and this took membership from 165,000 to a claimed 320,000. In 1939, union members who refused to denounce the German-Soviet pact were expelled, and in 1942, Pierre Semard, the union's former leader, was executed by the Vichy regime.
The union was banned during World War II, but reformed after the war, and in 1946 it had 394,000 members. In 1947, many on the right wing of the union left to join Workers' Force. The CGT union remained the largest on the railways, and regularly undertook industrial action in defense of pay and conditions.
By 1994, the union had 58,822 members. By 2019, this had declined slightly to 42,640.
General Secretaries 1917: Marcel Bidegaray 1920: Gaston Monmousseau, Edmond Lévêque, Henri Sirolle and Lucien Midol 1920: Marcel Bidegaray 1921: Adolphe Montagne 1923: Paul Le Guen 1926: Jean Jarrigion 1935: Pierre Semard and Jean Jarrigion 1940: Roger Liaud 1944: Raymond Tournemaine and Gérard Ouradou 1948: Raymond Tournemaine 1953: Robert Hernio 1961: Georges Séguy 1965: Charles Massabieaux 1976: Georges Lanoue 1993: Bernard Thibault 2000: Didier Le Reste 2010: Gilbert Garrel 2017: Laurent Brun
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